


hacking up a lung

by quinnsparrow



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Hanahaki Disease, before the fall - Freeform, freezerbros, sun is a homie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:20:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quinnsparrow/pseuds/quinnsparrow
Summary: yang is coughing up flowers, but isn't aware that she's in loveweiss has to spell it out for her
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 9
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i love the idea of hanahaki disease, but i've never read a super satisfying fic for it so I decided to try writing one
> 
> hope y'all enjoy cuz it's been fun to write :)

As she made her way down the hallways of Beacon, heading towards her shared dorm room, Yang felt a scratch in the back of her throat. It wasn’t unbearable or particularly painful, but it was the kind that no matter how many times you cough to relieve it, it’s just not enough. She coughed as forcefully as she could, holding a fist in front of her mouth, and her eyes began to tear up, to no avail.

“Are you okay?”

Yang turned around to meet her partner’s eyes. Blake stood only a few feet away. Her expression held a large amount of concern, and the bow she always wore twitched from the movement of her cat ears hidden underneath. She held a few books close to her chest, no doubt she had been looking for Yang so they could head to their dorm together after classes.

“You’ve been coughing a lot lately. Are you sick?”

Yang’s chest tightened, she felt the need to cough again, but held it at bay as she kept eye contact with Blake. 

Over the past few weeks, Yang had started to feel a certain… warmth towards her partner. It was as though everything Blake did was suddenly more purposeful, more meaningful, more beautiful.

It had all started with a question asked in the dark. Sleep deprived minds and things that weren’t funny causing a ridiculous amount of laughter. Yang had finally felt like Blake and her had gotten to the point of “close friends,” and felt so comfortable with falling asleep in Blake’s bed instead of waking herself up a bit more to climb into her own. As she had drifted off, Blake had whispered a question into the dark, possibly not meant for Yang to hear, “ _ Will this last?” _

Yang hadn’t brought it up, not knowing what “this” was referring to, but that question, so filled with fear had been taking up most of her thoughts since it had been asked. Since that night, Yang made it her priority to never leave Blake hanging. In the sense that if Blake wanted to go back to the dorms, she’d always offer to go with her. If Blake wanted to read in the library, Yang offered to keep her company. If Blake wanted to eat meals anywhere other than the cafeteria, Yang offered to join. She never wanted Blake to feel alone, and was beginning to realize, she didn’t want to be alone either.

Ruby was great, she was her sister, how could Yang not love spending time with her? But Yang grew up with her, there was nothing new for her to learn about Ruby. Weiss seemed ok, she needed to have a bit of character development, but she was an all around interesting person to be around. But those two were partners, and to be honest with herself, Yang didn’t want to spend every waking moment with them on top of the 24/7 that she already was spending with them. 

Blake was  _ her  _ partner. She was mysterious, beautiful, and Yang wanted to spend time with her and learn everything she could about her. She had already learned a lot from their impromptu time spent together one on one. Blake liked tea, not so much coffee. She liked a good joke, though she might not laugh as loudly or obviously as others, but Yang could tell when she was amused. Her lips would quirk up to the left in a half smile. She liked romance and fantasy novels, and when she read, if she was really into the story, her ears would twitch and move beneath her bow, giving away how she felt about what was happening in the story. Yang had yet to decipher those emotions, but there would be time for that. 

She brought her thoughts back to the present, with Blake looking at her, awaiting a response of some sort.

“I’m okay, really, I just have a scratch in the back of my throat I can’t get rid of. Nothing to really worry about.”

Blake’s expression still held concern, but she relaxed a bit. “Alright, if you’re sure you’re fine. Are you headed back to the dorm?”

Yang cleared her throat (more like sadly attempted to), then nodded, gesturing for Blake to join her. As they made their way down the hall, there were a group of first years crowding around, talking, mingling, just generally making a dumb amount of noise. Yang could practically  _ feel _ Blake cringe, her extra ears no doubt picking up more than Yang was. As they made their way through the crowd, Blake pushed closer to Yang, trying to get away from a boy who had a snot bubble close to popping. It was gross, and Yang couldn’t blame Blake for wanting to be nowhere near him, but when Blake linked their arms together, Yang couldn’t breathe.

Both Blake’s proximity, and the sudden closing of her throat had parts to play in that.

She pulled Blake along down the hallway as quick as she could, holding her breath because she currently had no other options. As soon as they were through the crowd, merely a few seconds later, Blake pulled away, unlinking their arms but still remaining close. After giving Yang some room though, Yang could finally draw in a ragged breath. She felt the need to cough again, but held it back, not wanting Blake’s concern directed at her again, but it looked like she already had it.

“Are you having trouble breathing? Your breaths sound laboured right now.”

Blake stepped forward, possibly to lay a hand on Yang’s shoulder, but Yang felt that that wouldn’t really help her situation. Cursing Blake’s superior hearing for this entire situation, Yang stepped back away from Blake’s touch, trying to say something, but couldn’t, knowing she’d start hacking if she tried. She shook her head, waving her hand in what she hoped was an “I’m fine” gesture, and quickly made her way to the bathrooms.

Only when she locked herself in a stall did she allow herself to cough. Horrible barks escaped her throat, and when she thought she wouldn’t stop, choking on her own throat, she spit out… flower petals? Pink and white petals, only a few, but still. Flower petals, resting in the palm of her hands, that had come from her body. She couldn’t recall eating anything out of the gardens lately, but she couldn’t quite understand why in the world she’d be coughing up flower petals. She didn’t even know what kind of flowers they were, but that didn’t particularly matter to her, as she had a more pressing issue to worry about.

She quickly dropped the few petals into the toilet, flushing them down and hoping nobody would find out about it. She unlocked the stall door, stepping out, hoping to wash her hands and rinse her face, hoping to forget about what had just happened, but Blake was standing next to the sinks. Her books were held under her left arm, her right was supporting her weight against the sinks. She looked casual, as though just waiting for her friend to get out of the restroom, but her eyes bore into Yang's soul, making Yang feel as though no amount of lying would be able to persuade her that nothing was wrong. Because something  _ was _ wrong. And Blake knew it.

She stayed silent though, allowing Yang to wash her hands, and wash her face. She dried her hands quickly, looking to Blake when she was done. Expecting a barrage of questions or an accusation of some sort. She was surprised when Blake said nothing as they exited. She kept quiet as they finished their trip to the dorm, making sure to walk a respectful distance away from Yang. 

Only when the door closed behind them, and it was clear they were the only two present, did she say something. 

“You sounded like you were choking. That’s not nothing so please don’t give me that half assed lie again.”

“But I am fine!” Yang answered, and it was the truth. Since she had hacked up those petals, her throat felt good as new. No more obnoxious scratchy feeling. She was appreciative that Blake seemed so worried, especially considering that Blake tended not to show her emotions so outright, Yang felt special to be in the receiving end of her concern. “I promise,” She crossed her index finger over her chest where her heart was. “I’m okay now, I’m all better. No more itchy throat, no more cough stuck in my throat.” 

Blake looked like she wanted to say something else, perhaps push the issue, or maybe give Yang an acknowledgement that she believed her, but she said nothing. She gave a curt nod, making her way to her bed to settle down and open the novel she was in the midst of reading.

Yang wanted to say something, anything really, to ease the tension that now stood between them, but Blake made it clear the conversation was over. No point in dwelling on it.

She dwelled on it anyway. She made her way over to the single desk that sat in their room. It had practically been claimed by Weiss since they had all moved in, her notebooks and textbooks lay in neat piles next to meticulously organized pens and pencils, but it wasn’t technically off limits to everyone else in the room, so Yang sat at the desk. She pulled out her scroll, just for a distraction of some kind, but it lay unused in her hands as she thought about the girl that was reading only a few feet away.

Blake had shown open concern for Yang’s wellbeing, something that Yang had both hoped for and dreaded. She had wanted Blake and her to get closer, to be able to rely on each other as partners should, but she had hoped they would talk about dreams for the future, goals they wanted to achieve, what they wanted to accomplish. She wanted them to openly communicate their emotions and to lean on each other when something was wrong. She didn’t particularly want the first thing Blake was openly concerned about to be because of herself. Because of a cough. A stupid cough that made her choke on flower petals.  _ UGH! _

And what was that all about anyway? Something was pulling within the recesses of Yang’s mind, something about people being choked to death from flowers growing within their lungs, but she couldn’t place it. It sounded like a fairytale. It probably  _ was _ a fairytale. Perhaps Blake had read it.

Yang glanced over the shoulder to take in the sight of Blake reading, but was surprised to find Blake’s book abandoned on the bed, and Blake standing right behind her. It surprised her so much that she yelped, falling backwards out of her chair onto the floor.

“Blake what-”

“You stared at your scroll for ten minutes. You’re not even doing anything on it, you’re just staring.”

_ Curse Blake’s observancy _ Yang thought, making a move to stand. Blake stood with her arms crossed, setting her foot on Yang’s shoulder, pushing her to remain on the floor.

Que the scratchy feeling in her throat again. Her throat began to close. Panic grasped her lungs, but she tried to keep a calm facade, and desperately tried not to think about the very… compromising position that the two of them were currently in. With Blake’s foot holding her from standing, if she looked away from Blake’s face at all, she was sure to get a good look up her skirt, so she kept her eyes dutifully trained on Blake’s eyes, desperate to ignore the blood rushing to her face.

“You asked me to be honest with you,” Blake said, mercifully removing her foot. “So I ask the same.”

She didn’t even really allow Yang a chance to respond. She made her way swiftly back to her bed, grabbed her book, and ducked out of the room, leaving Yang, heaving on the floor.

  
  
  


Not long after Blake had left the room, Yang flew to the bathroom, hacking up more flower petals. A lot more petals than earlier that day, the same pink and white petals now lay scattered across the tiles of the bathroom floor. 

“What the hell?” she groaned aloud to herself. This was the second time within the same day, barely hours apart. She needed to get to the bottom of this, but had no way how to go about it. She could ask Blake. She didn’t really want to, but Blake had made it abundantly clear that she wanted Yang to be honest with her. This issue was to forgein to Yang though, that she wanted to consult an outside source before bringing it up to her partner. When she heard the haughty voice of a certain heiress float through the bathroom door, she knew what she was going to do.

She scrambled to clean up all the petals, throwing them all into the toilet to again flush away any evidence of her ailment, all but for a small handful of petals. She stuffed those into her pocket before exiting the bathroom and going back to her room. Weiss sat at “her” desk, fiddling with the alignment of her books. She looked up when she heard Yang enter, scowling.

“Were you at my desk? Did you touch my things?”

“Not now Weissicle, I need your help.”

Weiss’ scowl deepened with the nickname, but changed to curiosity upon hearing Yang’s request.

“My help? Couldn’t Blake or Ruby help you?”

“Eh,” Yang said, trying to come up with a reason not to go to those two. She eventually just shook her head and said, “They just wouldn’t be able to help me with this.” She pulled out the flower petals from her pocket, careful not to drop them, and held them out for Weiss to see. “Do you know what type of flowers these come from?”

Weiss leaned forward to look, her gaze flicking from the petals in Yang’s hand to looking Yang in the eye, as though trying to figure out the butt of the joke.

“You didn’t cough these up did you?”

Yang blanched. “Uh…”

Weiss’ expression looked resigned. “The petals are of the purple lilac and daffodil, flowers who’s meanings represent new love, and new beginnings.” She trained her eyes on Yang’s, the scar over her eye looking prominent. “Did. You. Cough. Them. Up?”

Yang wanted to lie, but it looked like Weiss would actually be able to tell her what was going on. “Um, yes, I did. How did you-”

“When did it start?”

“Been coughing for a few days, but these only showed up earlier today.”

“Hmm.” Weiss’ eyes glazed over, appearing to be lost in thought.

‘You wanna tell me what the hell is going on with me? ‘Cuz this is super uncomfy not gonna lie. I’ve been hacking all day, and Blake’s been super worried. Not that she’d actually say that but she’s been on my ass all-”

“Yang, have you ever heard of hanahaki disease?” She turned away from Yang, pulling out a book from one of the desk drawers and started to flip through the pages.

“Hanahaki?” Yang looked down at her hands where the petals still sat. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

“Hanahaki disease, which can also be called the love illness, unrequited love, or other ridiculous related names,” Weiss stated, seeming to be skimming a page of the book she held. “It’s a rare disease that occurs when someone in love believes it’s unrequited. Flowers begin to grow within their lungs, and the longer they keep the love they have to themselves, or in other words, if they don’t confess their feelings, the more flowers grow, slowly suffocating the afflicted.” She looked up to meet Yang’s eyes. “If their love is unrequited, they will die a slow and painful death, choked to death by flowers in their lungs, crushing their windpipe and-” Weiss looked away, her eyes glassy. “Basically if you don’t get the person you have feelings for to love you back, you’re screwed. You can keep your feelings to yourself, and slowly have the flowers kill you from the inside out, or you can confess and get it over with. Either way you’re dead if they don’t love you back.” She closed the book quickly, placing it haphazardly on the desk.

Yang retracted her hands from where they hung in the air, placing the petals back in her pocket. “But I don’t- How do you-”

“My mother had it,” Weiss stated, refusing to make eye contact with Yang. “I know I just said the only ways to get rid of it are to die or have your feelings returned, but,” she took a deep breath, sounding ragged as she let it out, and meeting Yang’s eyes again. “It can be surgically removed. It’s a horrible process, and leaves you loveless in the end. Legitimately loveless, you lose your ability to love. Most people opt for that option since it has the highest survival rate when it comes to hanahaki disease. I would know, since that’s what my mother did.”

Yang was speechless. She had asked Weiss for the type of flowers so she could hopefully look into what was going on with her on her own, and Weiss had just… given her the answers. Weiss had gotten  _ emotional _ . With  _ Yang _ ? Yang cleared her throat, which reminded her of the situation she was in, and said, “I’m, um, I’m really sorry to hear that Weiss, truly.” Weiss gave a small nod in acknowledgement. “But I don’t understand something. I understand the premise of the disease and all that, but I don’t love anybody like that. How could I have it?”

Weiss’ gaze flicked to the beds behind Yang, then back to meet Yang’s eyes. “I assume you’re joking.”

Now Yang was confused. She turned to look at the beds that were behind them, which happened to be Yang and Blake’s bunk, then back to Weiss. “No, I don’t get it.”

Weiss let out an exasperated sigh, throwing her delicate hands up before they fell into her lap. “Yang you must be the dumbest brute at Beacon. I don’t understand how you can have an actual love disease and not realize that you’re in love!”

“In love? With who?”

“Oh for the love of- It’s obvious that you’re head over heels! Perhaps to just about everyone but you. You’ve been making googly eyes at her since we got here, I’m not sure how you can’t see that you’re unequivocally in love with B-”

The door burst open, and a bowling ball of red flew through the door, slamming into the wall. Yang startled backward away from Weiss, turning to see Ruby, resting on her shoulders, with the rest of her body up in the air against the wall. “Ouch!” was all she said.

“You absolute dolt!” Weiss stood abruptly from her chair, making her way across the room to Ruby. Yang watched her summon a glyph that practically launched Ruby back into the air, but instead of crashing down on the ground again, she landed on her feet. The grin that spread across her face told Yang what she was about to do before she did it. 

Ruby hopped up and down, saying “Woah Weiss, that was so cool!” Then, she picked Weiss up in a hug and spun her around. “Sorry about crashing in!” she rushed, setting Weiss down and continuing without registering the look of surprise on Weiss’ face. “I was trying my semblance outside, I was rushing everywhere! Then I saw Blake and sped over to her to say hi, and she said hi back, then I zoomed away to come find you ‘cuz I wanted to get some training in before dinner and that when I crashed in here.” She finished with a rush. She looked excitedly to Yang, and Yang instinctively put a hand over the pocket holding her lung parasites.

“OH! Yang, Do you wanna train with us?” asked Ruby, hopping over to be in front of Yang. She bounced on the balls of her feet awaiting an answer.

Yang looked behind Ruby’s head at Weiss. She was still standing, rooted to the place Ruby had placed her, face flushed, but she was able to look Yang's way and give a soft shake of her head. “Actually sis, I think it should just be you two, I’ve got some things I need to look into.” Those “things” would be analyzing all her feelings, and to look into what Weiss had told her. In love with Blake? Nah. 

Well, maybe. 

She would get to the bottom of her illness, and she would figure it out. Confessions and love be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, i'll try to update this one soon. I've been neglecting my other fic try try again so we'll see
> 
> anyway, please leave comments, they fuel my soul


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, this story was just buzzing in my head since I posted the last chapter, so here's part two!

This was a mistake. 

Perhaps if she had thought ahead, Yang wouldn’t have walked into the bathroom to cough up her daily dose of flower petals. She could have waited a few more minutes, maybe even a few more seconds, she could have talked to Weiss just a little longer, and she could have avoided the unfortunate situation she found herself in.

It had been three weeks of grueling self reflection, hacking up an assortment of flower petals, and avoiding being near Blake, as proximity to her caused the flower buildup to be worse far more often. Yang found if she could limit her time with Blake to only twelve hours a day, it made the time both more bearable physically, but harder emotionally.

Weiss had been, as much as Yang hated to admit it, correct. When given the proper amount of time to sort through her emotions and to over analyze every single interaction she’d had with her partner up to this point, she was able to determine that she had, in fact, fallen for her partner.

How could she not? Blake was beautiful. She was smart, and witty, putting Weiss’ intellect to shame. Her hair was gorgeous, Yang always found herself wanting to touch it, to run her fingers through it, but she never did, not wanting to overstep. Blake’s eyes were a lovely amber color that practically had flecks of gold in it, Yang’s favorite color. Blake had small habits that just added to her character. She tilted her head to the left when she was deep in thought. She narrowed her eyes when she observed her surroundings. She talked in her sleep, which was actually hilarious, because while everyone else was asleep, and Yang was still up late ridding her system of flower petals, she could hear Blake speaking to nobody. Things like “the horse is not my brother,” or “she can’t possibly spell carrot, she’s not equipped for that,” and Yang’s personal favorite, due to it’s hilarity and the fact it involved herself, “Yang can’t be queen of the castle, Nora would kill her.” 

Upon further reflection, Yang could see that falling for Blake had been easy. Now came the hard part.

According to Weiss, for Yang to rid her lungs of the disease slowly killing her, she had to tell Blake. Doing so would either spell disaster or have a happy ending, but Yang was preparing herself for the worst. She had decided she’d take time to watch Blake. Not in a stalker way, more like an observant, cautious way. She wanted to try to figure out how Blake felt about her without explicitly asking because then her life could possibly end right then and there.

She had spent the day tailing Blake to the library, the gardens, the outskirts of the forest, even back to the dorms. She hadn’t done anything particularly interesting, but because it was Blake, and Yang had fallen for her, everything she did was fascinating.

In the library, she sat within the darkest corners, curled up against the wall to read. Her eyes practically glowed in the dark, and she frequently had her hair falling in front of her face, only for her to sweep it back behind her ear again. Mesmerizing. In the gardens, she walked by all the plants, running her fingers along the petals and hummed to herself. Some were tunes Yang couldn’t recognize, but she didn’t care. It was all beautiful. Blake usually spent a good amount of time within the poisonous plants section, speaking in soft whispers to the deadly nightshade. After a few days of her doing this, Yang had begun to cough up the same flowers, and when she asked Weiss what they were called, she had been met with a look of incredulousness.

“You hacked up deadly nightshade? Atropa _belladonna_? You’re denser than I thought.”

When Blake made her way to the outskirts of the Emerald Forest, Yang would watch as she used her time to assassinate Grimm. Yes, the girl hunted them down and killed them, deadly and silently. It was hot as fuck. And not only did she do that, but Yang watched as this was the only time Blake allowed herself to drop her mask. The mask that hid just how exhausted she was. Of what, Yang didn’t know, but she wanted to find out. Every time, without fail, after tailing Blake, Yang would have to distance herself so she could allow herself to cough up the flowers in peace.

Each flower had a meaning, as she had come to find. She brought the petals to Weiss for her to examine every time something new escaped her lungs. Every time, Weiss would know what it was and what it symbolized. Lilacs and daffodils had been first. Next, it had been sunflowers. Weiss had said that they meant adoration and pure love. Her exact words had been “Adoration, of course the literal personification of the sun would hack up a sunflower.” Yang had been tempted to tease Weiss about that comparison, but considering she was always willing to help her, Yang left it alone.

The sunflowers had mixed with the belladonnas, and after a while, Yang realized that the sunflowers were permanent, but the other flower could be subject to change. The belladonnas hadn’t lasted more than a few days, quickly replaced with forget-me-nots. Weiss rolled her eyes at those. They lasted for the majority of the three weeks, until only a few days ago, replaced with purple gladiolus flowers. When Yang had asked Weiss about them, she had only answered, “Makes sense seeing who you’re in love with,” but left it at that, not really giving Yang a true answer. 

Yang felt bad about taking this all to Weiss. Weiss had already dealt with someone who had suffered the disease, and Yang felt guilty bringing it all back to her for help. When Yang had apologized, Weiss had waved it off, simply stating, “It doesn’t matter. You’re not gonna get help from anyone else, it might as well be me. Besides, what kind of teammate would I be if I didn’t help you? Even if you are a fool.”

Yang took the jab without complaint. After all, not only was Weiss helping, but she was keeping it a secret, not only from Blake, but Ruby as well as the rest of the school, and Yang couldn’t be more grateful.

All these events and more had led to the situation Yang found herself in. After a day full of tailing Blake around the school grounds, effectively filling her lungs with more rosary to puke, she had checked in with Weiss (as she promised she would do everyday). She received the ok from Weiss and quickly set off to the bathrooms, her throat already closing up considerably. She coughed all along the way to the bathrooms, and when she opened the door, there was Blake.

That alone would be cause for concern, but the real problem was Sun Wukong. Yang didn’t have anything against the guy, she actually thought he was funny, but she had a real problem with the way his hands were resting on Blake’s hips. His lips were inches from hers, telling Yang that they were either about to kiss, or she had just interrupted one. The sight made her feel nauseous, on top of her blocked airway, and a nervous sweat trickled down her forehead.

“Yang?” It was Blake. She had lightly pushed Sun away from her, looking to Yang to say something.

“Oh hey Yang!” Sun said, smiling widely and waving wildly. 

Yang was only able to give a slight nod in acknowledgement before she keeled over in the bathroom doorway, coughing and gasping desperately for air. Petals spewed from her mouth, coating the floor in a layer of bright yellow and purple, whole flowers coming up with the petals. 

“Yang! What the hell, what’s going on?” Blake exclaimed, dropping to her knees and setting a hand on Yang’s shoulder. Her touch only made the pain in Yang’s chest worse, she could practically feel the roots and stems growing, twisting into her respiratory system, gradually shredding it and making it nearly impossible to breathe. Her next cough brought not only flowers, but blood.

Blake quickly withdrew her hand. Yang couldn’t see her face, but she could hear her breathing. She seemed to take a moment to think before turning to Sun, who was still standing near the sinks, shock plastered across his features. “Sun,” Blake said, desperation clear in her voice, “please, help carry her to the infirmary, she can barely breathe.”

He shook himself from his stupor, stepping forward, “Yeah, no worries, I can do that.”

“Weiss!” Yang wheezed. She barked a whole ass sunflower before she could speak again. “Take me-” _cough_ , “to Weiss!” 

Blake hesitated, her eyes flicking from Sun to Yang, before she said, “Alright, to Weiss then.”

Sun nodded, scooping Yang into his arms. She severely wanted to thrash around like a fish out of water, make him drop her, she wanted to take herself to Weiss, but she was in no condition to do so. Each cough brought more flowers and blood, each one choking her, blocking her airway. She wouldn’t be able to stand if she wanted to. How had it gotten this bad so quickly?

Before she knew it, they were at the dorm. Blake threw the door open and shouted, “Weiss!”

Weiss, who was right where Yang had left her, sitting at her desk, notes sprawled across the desktop, startled from her relaxed studying position (whatever that is). She looked to the doorway, her jaw falling open at the sight of Yang.

“What in the hell Yang? How did it progress this quickly?” She turned back around, sweeping her hands across her desk, knocking everything to the floor in a very un-Weiss way. She waved Sun over, “Lay her here,” she said quickly, opening her drawer with that damned book in it.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Yang?” 

Ruby. Oh no, Ruby was in the room too. She was perched on her bed, scroll in hand, no doubt she had been playing a game prior to Yang’s impromptu medical emergency.

“I’d like to know that too. What the _fuck_ is wrong with my partner?”

Haha, Blake said fuck. Oh wow Yang was _not_ with it.

“I can tell you soon, but for the love of Gods, put her on the desk, Sun!”

He made his way forward, laying her down as gently as he could, bless his soul. He cradled her head, setting it down last, then stepped back to give Weiss the space she needed.

“Thank you for your help, but Sun, you’ll have to leave now. This is a private team matter, I hope you can understand,” Weiss said as she flipped through her book, settling it on top of Yang’s stomach, who for the record, was half conscious.

“Not a problem, I’m glad I could help.” He gave a ridiculous salute, it was the cutest thing Yang had ever seen. Then he turned to Blake. “I hope everything turns out ok. Let me know if you need anything.” With those parting words, he left a kiss on Blake’s temple, and made his way out the door.

The sight twisted the stems of Yang’s flowers, her lungs in more pain than before. She let out a watery yelp, turning her head to the side as blood and flowers escaped her esophagus. She had barely cleared her throat when her lungs were crushed even further, and she let out a muffled scream, trying to keep quiet.

“What’s wrong with my sister Weiss?” Ruby sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Weiss crouched down to meet Yang’s eyes, Yang having been blessed with a short reprieve from heaving. She tapped Yang’s forehead, making Yang open her eyes fully, and look straight into Weiss’s. She whispered, “Moment of truth Yang. What are you going to do?” 

Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to die yet,” Yang mumbled. 

Weiss, ever so lovingly and carefully, swept Yang's bangs from in front of her eyes. “I know. With it having progressed this quickly, surgery is no longer even an option,” she said. Then she mumbled, “Not that it’s much of an option in the first place.” 

“So...”

“It’s just a matter of do or don’t at this point,” Weiss sighed. “You’re maybe screwed if you do, you’re definitely screwed if you don’t. If telling her goes wrong, it’ll be the same outcome as if you keep quiet. I think you should take the only chance you’ve got.” Weiss looked over her shoulder, and Yang’s eyes followed her gaze to Blake. She stood there with apprehension in her posture, likely able to hear the conversation happening between Weiss and Yang, but not knowing enough to piece together what was really going on. Weiss looked back to Yang, taking Yang’s hand in her own and giving it a comforting squeeze. “Either way, I’m not going anywhere, and neither are they. What do you want to do?”

Yang tore her gaze from Weiss to Ruby, who stood behind Weiss’ other side. She looked like she was close to melting into a blubbering puddle, but she kept a brave face on, looking from Weiss to Yang to Blake then back again, clearly desperate for answers. How could Yang leave her? How could she allow herself to die like this? Possible survival was only a short conversation away. Her chances were slim, but slim was better than none.

She looked to Blake. Blake’s eyes looked glassy, she looked like she too wanted answers, but she didn’t look confused like Ruby. She looked certain, as though she knew what was going on in some aspect, but she definitely didn’t know what the outcome would be. She met Yang’s eyes, and gave her a watery half smile. 

She smiled for Yang.

That solidified Yang’s decision. She looked back to Weiss, quietly breathing out, “I’ll tell her.”

Weiss nodded, then made to stand, letting go of Yang’s hand. She turned to gesture for Blake to come over, to take her spot, and in those few seconds, Yang started choking again. Coated in blood, the petals and full flowers of every flower she’d coughed up until that point came up. Daffodils and lilacs, followed by sunflowers and belladonnas, then forget-me-nots and purple gladiolus, before the coughing slowly subsided. and her vision cleared. Blake was on her knees in the place in front of Yang’s vision previously occupied by Weiss, her hand taking Yang’s Weiss had left abandoned, her own hand sweeping Yang’s bangs from her face.

“You’re giving us quite the scare here Yang. Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Her voice sounded sad. She sounded resigned, defeated, hurt. 

“Hana-hanahaki,” Yang gasped, barely even able to say the word through the blood coating her mouth.

Blake nodded slowly. “I figured. Nobody just pukes flowers. Why haven’t you confessed yet? Do you want to die?”

Yang shook her head, her vision threatening to go dark. “Scared.”

“Who is it Yang? Who stole your heart? Who’s responsible for this?” Blake asked quietly, running a thumb across Yang’s knuckles.

Swallowing down the flowers she could feel growing just from that action, she used her free hand to reach down and pick up one of the flowers she’d already spit up. The belladonna. She held it out in between them, in front of their faces. Looking past the flower in her hand, and reaching Blake’s eyes, she murmured, “You can’t even guess?”

Blake’s eyes widened, her hand tightening around Yang’s. Yang could feel the last of her energy leaving her body, the roots within her lungs threatening to take over, to leave no room for oxygen. Though she was still conscious, barely, her body went practically limp, the hand holding the flower dropping, dead weight, the flower falling from her fingers. She could no longer grip Blake’s hand, her eyes became difficult to hold open. She could hear Ruby let out a sob, and Weiss was already there to hold her. At least she would have Weiss.

She felt her eyes fill with tears, falling down the sides of her face, and felt death weigh upon her. It already felt like she’d squeezed out the last of her time living, the luxury of Blake’s hand still wrapped around her own, the last thing she’d remember.

“You beautiful idiot,” she heard Blake say. “I love you too, so you better stay alive long enough for me to kick your ass myself.”

Then Yang’s world went dark.

She awoke with a shuddering gasp, clawing at her throat. She sat upright, desperately trying to draw in air.

“Woah, Yang! Chill out, take a deep breath, you’re okay.”

She couldn’t register who had spoken. A hand lay on her back, rubbing soothing circles. The voice spoke again, “It’s gonna be okay, Blake stepped out for a moment to get some food, she’ll be back any moment.”

Yang willed herself to stop panicking, drawing in a shaking breath. Her vision finally cleared, able to focus on the room in front of her. From her position, it seemed like she was in Blake’s bed, the blankets pooled at her feet, sweat trickling down her forehead and soaked through her shirt. Was she wearing her pajamas? She looked to her right, toward where the voice had spoken, and found Ruby. 

She looked worried, her mouth in a tight line, and her brow furrowed. Something seemed off about her, but Yang couldn’t place it. It was like something was missing. When she noticed something red move within the peripheral of her vision, she understood what it was. While Ruby wasn’t wearing her cape, it was however, draped over a sleeping Weiss Schnee. She had passed out in her desk chair, resting her head on her arms on the desk. Piles of books, papers, and writing utensils were strewn about the floor at her feet. It was like a scene from a horror film, that’s how utterly _wrong_ it looked.

But the mess reminded Yang why it was on the floor in the first place, why Ruby looked sick with worry, why Weiss was conked out on the desk rather than her bed, why there was the faint smell of flowers that didn’t come from Ruby.

Yang recalled, she had almost died. 

She had told Blake she loved her, and Blake had said it back.

“Where’s Blake?” she asked, cringing at how sore her throat was, and how cracked her voice sounded.

“As I said,” Ruby said quietly, “she went to get some food for all of us. None of us have eaten since you…” she appeared to mull over her words a moment before continuing. “Since you passed out. You weren’t awake, but you were still throwing up flowers and stuff, Weiss had to hold you on your side while you got it out of your system. After all that, you stopped breathing, and Blake gave you mouth to mouth. It took awhile but you finally started breathing on your own, and Weiss and Blake put you in Blake’s bed.” Ruby took her hand not preoccupied with rubbing circles on Yang’s back, and took Yang’s hand in it. “I was really worried,” she breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like that. I wanted to stay up with you, make sure you were okay, but Weiss said that it wouldn’t help, that I needed to sleep in my own bed so Blake could be near you. She said it would help with the healing or whatever.”

Ruby rubbed at her eyes and sniffled, letting out a strangled laugh. “Weiss could barely relax, lecturing me to sleep, but not getting any herself.” She looked to the sleeping heiress, whose hair was splayed out in quite an unattractive manor, and a smile broke out across her face. “She finally just couldn’t keep going and fell asleep right there.” She looked back to Yang. “And Blake slept right here,” she said, gesturing to the chair she was currently seated in. “Well I don’t know about sleep, but she definitely nodded off once or twice, and she didn’t leave until a little bit ago to get us food.”

Yang felt her heart swell. With love toward her sister, who had remained so calm despite such distressing circumstances. With gratitude toward Weiss, who had only ever been looking out for Yang’s wellbeing, despite that she’d never actually admit that. Toward Blake for...well, for being Blake. She had sat with Yang, remained near, the whole time she’d been unconscious. Speaking of which…

“How long have I been out?”

Ruby grinned sheepishly. “You were out Tuesday evening. It’s Thursday morning. Early morning.” She ran a hand through her hair, before grabbing the clock on Blake’s nightstand, turning it toward Yang so she could see the time. “So you’ve been out a while.”

“Oooh, yikes.” said Yang, bringing her hand up and dragging it down her face with a sigh.” I’m sorry for the scare sis, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. It was just so scary, and I didn’t really even fully grasp what all could happen to me until I was on death's door. I should’ve said something or-”

“No no no,” Ruby interrupted, waving a hand in front of her. “It’s okay, really! I understand you were scared, Weiss told me about all of it while you were out. You must’ve been terrified. I’m sorry you went through all that. I’m just glad you’re alive. That’s all that matters to me.” She offered Yang a reassuring smile.

“Thank you,” Yang croaked. “I love you Rubes.”

Ruby giggled. “I love you too Yang.”

Then the door opened, and Blake walked in. She held multiple cartons emanating wonderful smells, no doubt each of the four teammates favorite foods within them. When she saw that Yang was awake, her eyes widened, then she looked to Ruby. 

“Let me help you with those Blake,” Ruby said, standing from her chair and making her way over. She took the cartons from Blake’s hands, whispered something to Blake that Yang couldn't hear, and Blake nodded. “Got it,” she said, then moved to sit on the floor at Weiss’ feet, flipping open a carton, and chowing down on no doubt copious amounts of sugar.

Yang’s gaze left Ruby, to watch Blake glide to the chair previously occupied by Ruby. She sat down, then gingerly reached out a hand to Yang. Yang laid her own hand in Blake’s

“Hiya,” Yang wheezed.

“Well you sound delightful,” said Blake, a smile pulling at her lips, but for the most part keeping her expression neutral. 

“I think I broke my lungs,” joked Yang. She tried to let out a laugh, but it sounded more like a opossum being strangled. She winced.

Yang,” Blake said softly, and Yang snapped her mouth shut, nodding for Blake to continue. Blake took a breath. “You almost died, no, let me rephrase that. You _should_ have died.” Closed her eyes for a moment, recollecting her thoughts, then said, “You have no idea how scared I was Yang, how scared we all were. Weiss included. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so worked up. She cried for you, you know.” 

Yang’s eyes widened. “No way.”

“Yes way,” said Blake. “Miss Heiress showed actual concern for her ‘brute of a teammate.’” Blake sighed. “I mean it though, you worried me. I knew something was up with you, I knew you were unwell, but I had no idea it was hanahaki. You seemed like you almost wanted nothing to do with me these past few weeks, like you couldn't stay away from me enough, and it hurt.” She looked up from their conjoined hands to meet Yang’s eyes. 

“I didn’t mean-”

Blake held up a hand, stopping Yang. “I understand that now. Obviously.” Yang blushed. Blake continued, “It gave me some things to think about. Why I was so upset that you suddenly didn’t want to be around me, why it felt like such a betrayal, especially since you were previously so gung-ho to tag along with me everywhere. I actually started to think you were seeing someone.”

Yang let out an exaggerated gasp. “ _Nooo.”_

“Yes,” Blake smiled. “I started to wonder why the thought bothered me so much. Surely, my partner is allowed to be with whoever she wants to be with, but…” Blake scooted forward in her chair, resting her elbows on the bed, still holding Yang’s hands. “After mulling it over for weeks, I came to the conclusion that it bothered me so much, because I wanted you to want to be with me. I wanted you to myself, as selfish as that sounds, it was the truth.”

Yang’s heart dropped. “Was?”

Blake paused, tilting her head while looking at Yang, then gave a small shake of her head. “I misspoke. It _is_ the truth.” She reached out with her free hand, brushing Yang’s hair behind her ear. “I was scared too though, I didn’t want you to pull away even more than you already were, and I didn’t know about the flowers, otherwise I would’ve told you sooner.” She brought her hand back to rest in her lap. “Might I add, you really coughed up quite the array of flowers. Lilacs, daffodils, sunflowers?”

“Belladonnas,” Yang grinned, “Forget-me-nots, and purple gladiolus.”

Blake tilted her head. “Yeah those combos are a bit peculiar. Ordinarily, from the stories I’ve heard, the flowers produced, stem from specific feelings. The flowers are supposed to represent the emotions. So the flowers coughed up are usually roses and the like.”

“Do you know what the meanings behind all the flowers that came out of me symbolize?” Yang asked.

“I’m familiar with some,” Blake answered. “Like the lilacs and daffodils are new love and new beginnings. Sunflowers for adoration and pure love, the forget-me-nots are pretty straight forward, and the belladonna is just so on the nose.” Blake smiled. “But the purple gladiolus? I can’t quite understand that one.”

“Weiss told me about all of them,” Yang whispered, trying to take it easy on her sore throat, and pointedly ignoring the fact that all the flowers had practically spelled out exactly how she felt to Blake. “She said the sunflower and forget-me-nots were supposed to be pretty telling about me and my feelings. She didn’t really go into the purple gladiolus, she only said it ‘made sense.’” She ended that with air quotations.

Blake hummed, running a thumb across Yang’s knuckles, and this time, there was no blocked airway, just a massive amount of butterflies rampaging within Yang. “I’ll have to ask her about that then,” Blake said, glancing behind her to look at Ruby, still inhaling her breakfast, and Weiss, still out cold. 

Yang tightened her grip around Blake’s hand, causing Blake to look back at her, their eyes meeting. Blake’s eyes just about took her breath away (in a good way), the gold within them more prominent against the darkness of their room. “Um,” Yang muttered, “I, uh, I just want to be clear on something.”

Blake tilted her head.

Yang gulped, then continued, “I want to make sure that, you know, that we’re okay.”

Blake’s brow furrowed, then smoothed, her expression melting into a small smile. “Yeah Yang, we’re okay. We’re more than okay. I promise.”

Yang let out a breath, relief filling her lungs, and the tightness in her chest melted away. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, wiping them away before they could fall. “Okay then. We’re okay. We’re good. Everything will be okay.”

Blake squeezed her hand again, standing up to lean over and plant a tender kiss to Yang’s forehead. Yang’s brain just about fried out, but it reminded her of one more question that she had.

“Um, not that it super matters or anything, but what exactly did I walk into. In the bathroom, with Sun, the other day? You know, before I started hacking up my lungs.”

Blake pulled away, amusement alighting her features, her hair curtaining her face. “Oh that? Was that what set you off?” Blake giggled, and the sound just about burst Yang’s heart. “He wanted to reenact the way he had flirted with a girl the other day. Something about wanting my opinion on why she would have turned him down.” She rolled her eyes. “Bad timing honestly. Rest assured, he is just my friend. A really dorky and sometimes dumb one, but just a friend.”

Yang’s concern vanished, and her opinion of the dorky monkey boy was renewed. He was a good goofy guy. Yang sighed, squeezing Blake’s hand. “You should eat,” she said.

“I was going to. Would you like anything?”

Yang lightly shook her head, gesturing to her throat. “Not right now.”

Blake hummed, placed another kiss to Yang’s forehead, then sauntered over to sit next to Ruby, taking her own carton from the desk and opening it. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually, Weiss began to stir, and before long, she joined those two on the floor, Ruby’s cloak wrapped around her tightly, and Ruby leaned into her as she finished her breakfast. The sight of the three of them warmed Yang’s heart considerably, grateful for her wonderful teammates. Her sister, Weiss, and Blake, the most important people to Yang.

Yeah, everything was going to be ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the color purple in general symbolizes royalty, nobility and beauty. The purple gladiolus flower is a symbol of grace, mystery and charm. It's is a perfect gift for someone who likes unusual things and the symbolism behind the gladiolus flowers are of strength, faithfulness and infatuation. I've also taken it to be the perfect flower to symbolize Blake
> 
> so there's the fun fact of the day :)  
> and the thing Ruby whispers to Blake was, "Do you need time to talk to her?", just fyi
> 
> thank you for reading, please leave comments, I hoped you enjoyed

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, i'll try to update this one soon. I've been neglecting my other fic try try again so we'll see
> 
> anyway, please leave comments, they fuel my soul


End file.
